Bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to eliminate Social Security rules affecting public employees. What could happen next
Rare bipartisan momentum is growing in the House of Representatives to force a vote on a bill that would address a topic Congress typically avoids — Social Security.
The bill — the Social Security Fairness Act — would repeal two rules that reduce Social Security benefits for workers and spouses, widows and widowers who also receive pension income.
On Tuesday, Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Garret Graves, R-La., filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the bill on the House floor.
The petition currently has 172 signatures out of the 218 signatures required for a vote, including 25 Republicans, according to Spanberger’s office.
If brought to the House floor, the Social Security Fairness Act may pass, based on the 327 co-sponsors who are currently behind the proposal.
The Senate version of the bill, with 62 co-sponsors, also has broad support.
More from Personal Finance:
The ‘vibecession’ is ending as U.S. economy nails a soft landing
How the election could affect your taxes
Here’s how to know if your college kid actually needs ‘dorm insurance’
National groups representing police, firefighters, teachers, postal workers and government employees on the federal, state, county and municipal level, have also backed the effort.
Despite the momentum, experts say pushing the bill into law will not be easy.
“There’s just a time constraint here, and both the Senate and the House have a lot of work to do before the end of the year,” said Emerson Sprick, associate director for the economic policy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Moreover, simply eliminating the rules — formally known as the government pension offset, or GPO, and windfall elimination provision, or WEP — may not make the program’s benefits fairer, he said.
The WEP, in particular, is “deeply, incredibly misunderstood,” which contributes to calls to simply get rid of the rule, Sprick said.